DR. SHARUNDA BUCHANANDr. Sharunda Buchanan currently serves as the Director of the Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services at CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health.Dr. Buchanan received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry and Toxicology from Texas Southern University and her doctorate degree in Biochemistry from Clark Atlanta University. In 1990, Dr. Buchanan joined the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) as an Environmental Health Scientist in the Division of Toxicology. Later she joined CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Officer assigned to the Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects (DEHHE). During her tenure with DEHHE, Dr. Buchanan greatly contributed to the expansion of the National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and a Healthy Homes Research Agenda. In 2001, Dr. Buchanan became Chief of the Environmental Health Services Branch and served in this capacity until becoming Director of the Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services.As a recognized leader in the field of environmental public health practice, Dr. Buchanan is committed to developing future leaders and maintaining a national agenda that seeks to improve emergency and environmental public health services across the country. Dr. Buchanan led CDC’s Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services in the development of the important lighthouse document, A National Strategy to Revitalize Environmental Public Health Services in the United States. The goals outlined in the strategy highlight objectives for improving local environmental health services that will, in turn, establish an effective and efficient national environmental health services system capable of anticipating, identifying and controlling existing and emerging environmentally related health threats. Dr. Buchanan and her husband, Marcus, have two children: Kayla and Nicholas.

ELLEN DUNHAM-JONES, AIAEllen Dunham-Jones is an award-winning licensed architect and professor teaching contemporary architectural and urban design studios and theory. As co-author with June Williamson of Retrofitting Suburbia; Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs (Wiley & Sons, 2009) her work has received significant media attention in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Harvard Design Magazine, Urban Land, Planning, Architectural Record, TEDx and other venues. The book received the 2009 PROSE award for architecture and urban planning from the American Association of Publishers and was featured in Time Magazine’s March 23, 2009 cover story, “10 ideas changing the world right now.” She has published over 50 articles and 10 chapters in books, consults on urban design projects, and lectures widely. She serves as co-peer review editor for Places Journal and is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Congress for the New Urbanism. She received undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture from Princeton University and taught at UVA and MIT before joining Georgia Tech’s faculty to serve as Director of the Architecture Program from 2001-2009. In 2006-7 she was the Ax:son Johnson Visiting Professor in Sustainable Urbanism at LTH in Lund, Sweden and the 2010 Visiting Fellow in Sustainable Urban Development at SFU in Vancouver. Educational Background: 1980 – A.B. in architecture and planning, summa cum laude, Princeton University1983 – M.Arch, Princeton University.

RYAN GRAVEL, AICP, LEED® APRyan Gravel is a senior urban designer at Perkins+Will in Atlanta, where he brings an architect’s perspective to urban planning, concept development and public policy. His master’s thesis in 1999 was the original vision for the ambitious Atlanta BeltLine – a 22-mile transit greenway that transforms a loop of old railroads with light-rail transit, parks and trails to generate economic growth and protect quality-of-life in 45 neighborhoods throughout the central city. Six years of his subsequent work as a volunteer and later in the nonprofit and government sectors was critical to the BeltLine’s success, which is now a $2+ billion public-private initiative in the early stages of implementation. Perkins+Will is currently leading the Atlanta BeltLine Corridor Design, which will determine the design character and details for the trail, transit guideway, stations, access points, public spaces, public art, streetscapes, lighting, plants and materials. In addition to his professional work on the Atlanta BeltLine, Ryan is also a member of the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Board of Directors and speaks internationally about the BeltLine. He was named a “Visionary Bureaucrat” by Streetsblog in 2012 and one of the “Top 25 Newsmakers” of 2011 by Engineering News-Record. He received an “Emerging Voices” citation in 2011 from the AIA-Atlanta Young Architects Forum and the Atlanta Urban Design Commission’s highest award in 2007.

DR. CATHERINE ROSSDr. Catherine Ross is an internationally respected researcher and speaker on issues of land use, transportation planning, health impact assessment (HIA) and quality growth. She is a fellow of the Urban Land Institute and the National Academy of Public Administration. She is Harry West Professor, Director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development and NSF Advance Professor in the School of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Ross was selected advisor to the Obama Administration’s first-ever White House Office of Urban Affairs. She has published more than 350 articles, research reports, books and monographs and is a leader of research on megaregions. Her recent work has focused on promulgating the use of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) as a strategy to facilitate positive health outcomes in the built environment.) Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Transportation, HUD, US EPA, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, PEW Charitable Trusts, Lincoln Institute of Land policy-China Program, the Federal Transit Administration and many city, state, local and international entities. She is co-author of “The Inner City: Urban Poverty and Economic Development in the Next Century” and editor of “Megaregions: Planning for Global Competitiveness, 2009.” In 2005 Dr. Ross, Dr. Howard Frumkin and others founded the Healthy Places Research Group (HPRG) a consortium of academicians, health professionals, private consultants, architects and planners, among others, that meet once a month to engage in the pursuit of joint research activities and examine issues related to the built environment. Dr. Ross served as a senior policy advisor to the National Academy of Sciences and on the executive committees of TRB and the Eno Foundation. She attended Kent State University and received the Master of Regional Planning and Doctoral Degree from Cornell University. She completed post-doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley and has held several other national leadership positions including President of the National Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).

BRANDI JESSEMY WHITNEY, MPH, MCHESBrandi Jessemy Whitney has worked in health promotion and disease prevention for over ten years and is currently a program specialist at a local public health department in Metro Atlanta, Georgia. She is an advanced level health education specialist and her pursuits and experiences have been successful in community nutrition, physical activity, employee health promotion, tobacco prevention and control, health policy, health communication, and coalition and partnership development. Presently, Brandi serves as a leader in Atlanta for food access and food system initiatives and speaks regularly on best practices in nutrition and physical activity programs and policies. She provides technical assistance to partners on the tenets of community-based food security, community based action-planning, and worksite wellness. While at a local board of health she planned and initiated more than 20 physical activity and nutrition initiatives and led the adoption of four policies, impacting various populations in communities, schools, and worksites. She has partnered with state and local agencies to integrate healthy eating, physical activity, disease prevention, and health equity strategies into their practices, policies, and programs.

DAVID GREEN, AIA, LEED® AP
Code Reform and Public HealthDavid Green focuses on large-scale urban design and planning projects for the firm. He has been involved in hundreds of projects in the past twenty years, encompassing all scales of development from individual buildings to multi-thousand acre projects. His work focuses on issues of development, particularly healthcare and research districts, in contemporary urban areas. He further addresses the regulatory framework within which this development occurs, and provides innovative strategies for appropriate policy implementation. David received the AIA Atlanta Silver Medal in 2003 and the AIA Georgia Bronze Medal in 2008. David has been a member of Georgia Tech College of Architecture Faculty since 1992; currently appointed Professor of the Practice of Architecture. He lectures widely on issues of urban design, planning and architecture.

KATHY FIELD
Code Reform and Public HealthKathleen Field began her tenure with the City of Milton in September, 2011, joining the city after serving as Community Development Director of McDonough.Field began her career in community development in Massachusetts in 1978 and came to Atlanta in 2001. She served for 10 years in Roswell’s Community Development Department, seven of those as director.Field holds a bachelor’s in Political Science from Trinity Washington University and received her master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the American Planning Association and the Board of Directors for the Georgia Planning Association, a graduate of the 2002 Class of Leadership North Fulton, and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Drake House and on the Board of Directors of Senior Services North Fulton.

WAYNE SMITH
Code Reform and Public HealthWayne Smith has been serving on the City Council of McDonough, GA, since 2006 and owns his civil engineering and planning practice, D. W. Smith Design Group, Inc. in McDonough. He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Georgia Tech in 1980 and has worked with Georgia Department of Transportation and Henry County in addition to his consulting work.

DR. HOLLY AVEY
Health Impact AssessmentsDr. Holly Avey is an Associate Project Director at the Georgia Health Policy Center. Dr. Avey’s expertise in the field of Health Impact Assessment includes her role as a practitioner of HIA; an HIA trainer and technical assistance provider for the National Network of Public Health Institutes, the Health Impact Project, federal agencies represented on the National Prevention Council, and various individual clients; a collaborator with HIA experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and a member of the Provisional Steering Committee for the new Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment. In addition to her HIA work, Dr. Avey offers expertise in stress-related illness, health disparities, and the utilization of innovative research methods such as data collection through participant photography.

DR. CANDACE RUTT
Health Impact AssessmentsDr. Candace Rutt received her doctorate in applied health psychology at the University of Texas at El Paso in 2003. Since finishing her doctorate she has been working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focusing on built environment and Health Impact Assessment (HIA) research. She has been involved in numerous HIAs ranging from walk to school programs, farmers markets, urban redevelopment projects, and natural resource development projects. In addition to performing HIAs around the country, Dr. Rutt received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2007 to development and implement a US based HIA training course and has conducted over 30 trainings across the country.

BASAK ALKAN, AICP, LEED® AP BD+C
Health DistrictsÖzgür Basak Alkan is an urban designer at Perkins+Will in Atlanta, where she brings a focus on pedestrian environments and sustainability. She has an extensive background in urban mixed-use, waterfront and housing developments and campus planning projects located in the continental United States and Puerto Rico as well as in Asia and the Middle East. An architect and planner by training, Basak brings a strong focus on research and systems thinking to her projects, formulating innovative design concepts and planning guidelines that respond to the client and stakeholders’ needs and aspirations. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a LEED® Accredited Professional. Basak is currently serving on the board of CNU Atlanta.

JASON HARPER, AIA, LEED® AP
Health DistrictsJason Harper, Associate Principal as Perkins+Will, has honed and applied his talent for healthcare facility design for over two decades. He has successfully guided many healthcare clients through complex, multi-phased planning and construction projects. Jason is a meticulous architect, and has designed many refined and prestigious projects in the company portfolio. His experience and knowledge of the medical industry and its emerging trends allows him to provide clients with the information and guidance needed to solve short-range problems, as well as achieve successful long-range planning goals. His commitment to fostering the mission of his healthcare clients helps guide his efforts in delivering projects that are at once functional, beautiful and sustainable.

JOANNA LOMBARD, AIA
Health DistrictsJoanna Lombard is an architect and Professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture. Her undergraduate degree is from Tulane University and her graduate degree is from Harvard University. Through fellowships and awards, she has authored books on architecture and landscape. With Charles Bohl, she developed the UM online course in New Urbanism. As a member of the UM Health & Built Environment team, with grants from NIMH, NIEHS, and NIA, she has studied built environment impacts on children and the elderly with results published in peer-reviewed journals. An NIDDK study of recent immigrants is ongoing, along with a study funded by HUD which examines Medicare/Medicaid data in relation to neighborhoods. She has assisted in organizing health care charrette and engages in consulting with health care systems.

LAURA KEYES, AICP
Closing KeynoteLaura Keyes manages the Atlanta Regional Commission Lifelong Communities Planning Initiative. She is President for the Georgia Planning Association and is an AICP-certified planner. She holds a Bachelors of Science from the University of Michigan, a Masters of Science from the School of Agriculture at Michigan State University and a Certificate in Aging through the Institute for Geriatric Social Work from the Boston University School of Social Work. She is a graduate of both the Regional Leadership Institute’s Class of 2010 and Leadership DeKalb’s Class of 2012. She recently published her work on Lifelong Communities in Atlanta in the Journal of Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics.